How can legal institutions cultivate the virtues necessary for justice to flourish? Mongolia, a young democracy that has undertaken significant legal reforms over the past three decades, offers a compelling setting to explore this question.
This project will design and evaluate a three-year initiative to strengthen virtues among judges and attorneys within the Mongolian legal system. While institutional reforms can improve laws and procedures, the long-term integrity of legal systems depends on the character and practical wisdom of the people who interpret and apply those laws. Drawing on virtue ethics, moral psychology, and Mongolia's own legal traditions, the project will develop a training program that integrates ethical reflection with professional practice.
Working in partnership with Mongolian judicial organizations, the program will engage approximately 200 judges and 300 attorneys through workshops, peer dialogue, mentorship networks, and reflective exercises. These activities are designed to cultivate virtues such as integrity, impartiality, humility, and practical wisdom, while strengthening ethical reasoning and professional responsibility within the judiciary.
The project will also conduct a longitudinal mixed-methods evaluation examining how participation influences ethical reasoning, professional identity, and expressions of virtue in legal decision-making. Surveys, case-based assessments, and qualitative interviews will assess changes in understanding, attitudes, and behavioral responses regarding judicial virtues and ethical leadership.
By studying virtue development in a real-world legal context, the project seeks to deepen understanding of how moral character can be cultivated within professional institutions. Findings from the project will generate evidence-based insights that may inform future efforts to strengthen the moral foundations of legal systems and democratic institutions worldwide.
